


Life After a Death

by gillywulf



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, First Kiss, First Meetings, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-22
Updated: 2015-05-22
Packaged: 2018-03-31 18:47:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3988795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gillywulf/pseuds/gillywulf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lexa and Clarke are just that. Lexa and Clarke. No whole civilizations depend on them for their survival and for once, they don't have to think of others before themselves.</p>
<p>Or</p>
<p>The one where they aren't leaders.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Life After a Death

The first time Lexa meets Clarke, she's dying.

It's appropriate that Clarke looks like an angel, with her glowing hair and gentle voice in Lexa's ear. She likes the brush of words against her skin, but in her half-delirious state, she doesn't have the effort to understand what she's saying. English was always rather hard and she probably can't understand much Trigedasleng at the moment.

Anya's talking too, in her worried tone that most people interpret as standoffish rather than scared. Lexa tries and reach out to pat her shoulder in comfort, but someone catches her wrist before it's anywhere near her and settles it back at her side. Clarke strokes her arm gently in relaxed assurance and Lexa manages one last glance at the shining girl before everything goes black. 

She feels the pain before she's even fully conscious, so she squeezes her eyes closed tight and hopes that it passes, but it doesn't, so she groans loudly. Hands are suddenly everywhere, her neck, her forehead, her chest and her leg. It makes sense to struggle until Anya's voice cuts through the haze of pain.

"Stop it you idiot, they're making sure you're alive" The Trigedasleng is soft, only loud enough for Lexa to hear but it calms her anyway.

"Who?" she breathes out as she finally opens her eyes. And there she is, leaning over her to check her injuries and vitals. Clarke's face is set in concentration and determination as she touches and considers everything. Lexa wants to see that look head on. She wants those eyes to look at her with the quiet intensity that sends shock-waves through her bones. It's suddenly very hard to breathe.

"Lexa? My name is Clarke. Can you understand me okay?" Her voice is throaty and deep. Lexa wonders how it rumbles in her chest. Instead of asking, she nods slowly. "Can you speak for me? I want to make sure you're okay. My friend's life is kind of depending on it"

"Yes, I can" she hates how scratchy she sounds, but Clarke sags a little and smiles.

"Good to hear," she turns to Anya, "will you talk to him now?" she asks. Anya gives her a jerky nod and gestures to Gustus on the other side of the room. The bulky man leaves and comes back with a boy a few seconds later. He must be Skaikru if his clothes and fearful expression are anything to go by. He looks at Lexa long enough to see that she's alive before crossing the room in two quick strides so that he's only a few feet from Anya.

"Your second's okay. Look, we don't want to fight you. We were only trying to defend ourselves from an imminent threat. We have technology to offer and you know how to live here. I think we can make this work" The boy is practically pleading. If Lexa were Commander, she would have laughed in his face. But Anya is the Commander, thus it's her call. Anya eyes him, then nods.

"Let us try" The overly excited boy talks and negotiates with Anya for almost an hour. His hands move too much and his eyes give everything away that his mouth doesn't and even Lexa - a mere second - could have negotiated with him. Anya stands as still as a statue. Lexa wishes that she possesses Lincoln's art skills, as the contrast between the two Heda is something she wishes she could capture.

"Drink this" But she also wishes she could draw Clarke's shining eyes. Lexa takes the metal cup without hesitation (something Anya would scold her for most other days if she weren't otherwise engaged) and downs the water in a swift motion. Clarke takes the cup with a light chuckle. "Thirsty, huh?"

"Yes" The blond nods, holding out her canteen.

"Best get hydrated then. You lost a decent amount of blood" It's easy to obey the nice eyes and the water feels good against her throat. She glances over to the leaders.

"Do you believe peace is possible?" she asks. Clarke shrugs as she leans against Lexa's makeshift bed, her arms crossed.

"I _want_ it to be. I've already lost too many people for it not to  be. We all have, I think" Her eyes bore into Lexa's and Costia's face flashes through her mind. She goes back to watching the leaders.

"Yes. We have" By the time the boy and Clarke leave, a deal has been struck. The alliance will be announced early at both camps the next morning. From there, more talks will occur. Anya stalks over to the bed, her gaze as inscrutable as ever. Even when she talks, Lexa can barely discern a mood.

"Finn kom Skaikru is a real idealist. He lets his emotions speak much too freely. The girl would have been a better leader for them" Her eyes move over the clean dressings that cover Lexa's wound. "You seemed...fond of her, no?" Now she's teasing. Lexa frowns and falls back against the pillows, careful not to disturb her wounds.

"She is pleasing to look at and not indecent company" she says stiffly. Anya picks up on her denial anyway.

"High praise from you. When may we expect a union?" Lexa rolls her eyes and turns away. She can still hear Anya's quiet laughter as she leaves the room. The next morning they leave their tiny hideaway early, long before sunrise. Anya has an announcement to make and Lexa needs to rest in peace.

They enter the camp just as light begins to paint the mountains. Anya goes straight to the square and Lexa is taken to her tent. She falls asleep the moment her head hits the pillow that smells of home.

When she wakes up several hours later, the sun is high in the sky and she is not alone in her tent. She hears the soft scratching before she even opens her eyes and she knows from her experience with Lincoln that someone is drawing. It's a little absurd, she thinks, to be doing that _there_ or _now_ ; it was a luxury after all, and with a new treaty, no one would have much time.

But it's not Trigedakru, it's Clarke. There's a small sketchbook on her knees and a pencil in her hands moves deftly across the page, capturing whatever it is that's in her mind. Not for the first time, Lexa thinks about how beautiful she is. Her face is scrunched up in concentration and she's chewing absently on her lower lip, but no one Lexa has ever seen could match what Clarke somehow has. The girl glances up, then does a double take when she realizes Lexa is awake. The book snaps shut, piquing the Trigedakru's curiosity.

"Lexa. How are you feeling?" Clarke tucks the book into her jacket and marches across the room. She starts inspecting the wounds before Lexa even opens her mouth.

"Fine" she says simply. "What are you doing here?" Clarke raises an eyebrow with a smirk.

"What, want me gone already?"

"No" Their eyes connect. Clarke looks away first.

"Finn thought it would be good for the new alliance. An act of good faith, you know? Maybe a sky person consistently in your camp will get everyone used to the idea of us. Plus, I wanted to make sure you weren't dead" She says it like it's the most logical thing in the world, 'of course it's a good idea, I wouldn't do it otherwise', causing Anya's words in the hideaway to come back to her. A leader indeed.

"Yes, people will get used to your presence. This is a good idea. You should know, most people speak Trigedasleng. They will find it much harder to accept you if you speak normally to them. I am fine. Sit, I will teach you" Clarke blinks at her, looking for some sort of falseness in her, but finds none and does as Lexa asked.

For hours, words pass between them easily. Lexa finds it calming to watch familiar words leave Clarke's lips in an unfamiliar way. The Skaikru girl was smart and absorbed everything like a child at their first sword fighting lesson. It's tantalizing. They only stop when someone enters the tent with food for them. Clarke takes a plate and inclines her head.

"Mochof" she says hesitantly but still with a bright smile. Lexa knows then just how doomed she is. As the light outside falls away, the thought strikes Lexa that she doesn't know where Clarke is staying. So she asks.

"Have you been assigned somewhere to stay?" The question seems to surprise Clarke because then she frowns and narrows her eyes at the ground.

"No, I probably should have thought of that" The solution is too easy and too terrifying.

"You may stay with me if you want. I have more than enough space for you and I have extra bedding. Since I am the Commander's second, I am also granted more privacy than the average second. No one would disturb us" She tries not to sound too hopeful but it hard with the way Clarke is smiling at her, like she's quite possibly the most considerate person she's ever met. Lexa tries not to feel the kill scars on her shoulder. The smile turns shy and her cheeks pinken.

"I'd really like that, Lexa. Thank you" Lexa nods through the knot in her stomach and offers a small smile. Everything feels nice.

They fall into an easy routine; they wake up in Lexa's warm furs and Clarke checks, cleans, and redresses her wounds before anything else. Then, they go to join the rest of Ton DC for breakfast. It's a little hard for Lexa to navigate the people and tables with her crutches and constant pains, but Clarke helps in any way she can. Sometimes she will force Lexa to sit and then retrieve food for both of them. 

After, they go back to the tent and Lexa teaches Clarke more Trigedasleng or more about their culture until late. Then they go to sleep and start it all again the next morning. At first, others kept their distance from Clarke, eying her with distrust as they passed. But after Clarke saved a child's life with CPR, the distrust was gone. People smile at her as she passes and some even let her go in front of them in food lines. She is respected and Lexa watches it all with warm pride blooming in her chest.

"You should be more careful of your face" Anya says without preamble when she drops next to Lexa one morning. Her second frowns.

"How do you mean?" She receives a snort in reply.

"Your _affection_ is obvious. You remember Costia-"

"And she is not Costia" She levels Anya with a hard look. She has already had this conversation with herself and she was not going to have it with someone else. The Commander raises her chin defiantly and looks like she might say something before she nods and leaves. Clarke takes her seat a moment later.

"What was that about?" she asked with a glance in Anya's direction.

"Nothing. She is merely worried for my health" Clarke smiles and sets Lexa's food in front of her.

"Well she has nothing worry about with me looking after you"

"That's what I told her" Their eyes connect and Lexa feels it in her stomach. They move to the tent and Lexa immediately falls asleep. She dreams of a warmth that sets her fingertips on fire, a warmth that is only cooled by pools of bright blue and a healing touch. She dreams of ash covered hands tracing her own body and the scent of Clarke's skin. She jolts awake and breathes deeply. A quick glance shows her Clarke sitting on her bed furs, the sketchbook out again like most days. Lexa has yet to see an actual drawing, something she hopes to rectify. 

"Who is Costia?" Clarke asks before Lexa can open her mouth. Lexa's body goes rigid and her jaw tightens. 

"Why?"

"You say her name in your sleep sometimes. Not just now, but sometimes" She looks up now, her blue eyes meeting Lexa's green. She seems to sense the hesitance and shakes her head, looking back down to her sketchbook. "Never mind, you don't have to tell me. I shouldn't-"

"She was mine," Clarke's head snaps back up. "We grew up together and I fell in love with her. She said she fell in love with me. The leader of the Plains Clan passed through our village and grew affectionate of her. She found it very easy to form a union with him" Lexa couldn't look anywhere but the draping tent ceiling. She didn't want to see the pitying look on the Skai girl's face. 

"Good. She didn't deserve you" Lexa does look at her now, surprised by her reaction and the fire in her eyes. "You deserve nothing less than someone who sees you as their world. Don't settle" The Trigedakru nods, taken aback. Clarke smiles softly and turns back to her art as if she hadn't spun Lexa's world on its head. 

The sketchbook remains a mystery to Lexa for weeks. Clarke closes it calmly and puts it away anytime Lexa stands near her with a bright smile that disarmed her enough to make her forget about the sketchbook. It's frustrating. They are alone in the outskirts of the town, surrounded by the quiet of the woods when Lexa finally gives up and asks. Clarke is sketching something and she's had enough. 

"What do you draw? I have never seen your work" she says, trying not to be too frustrated. 

"Did you want to see?" Oddly enough, Clarke holds out the little book. Lexa feels almost like it's too easy as she takes it and flips to the front. She recognizes the image of a deer with a second half head. The lines are expertly drawn and the shading even more so to the point where it looks real. Her fingers ghost over the image and then she flips the page. 

Drawing after drawing is incredible. Lexa can't believe the painstaking detail that Clarke puts into her work. There are animals, objects lying around, huts and tents, and terrifyingly accurate people. The first people are Skaikru if their styles are anything to go by, but then Anya instructing Indra to do something comes into view. Lexa had heard of photographs before, but she was sure that Clarke's drawing was more true to life than the obsolete technology could ever be. 

"This is..." She trailed off, flipping a page and coming to a stop. There, lovingly rendered in black and white, is her, fast asleep in her bed. She looks beautiful which is almost as odd a thought as the fact that Clarke probably thought that too. She swallowed the unwelcome lump in her throat. 

But it wasn't the only one. There was another of her studying a map, trying to get back into fighting after her injuries were still on the mend, wresting with her dressings, and combing a horse. The ones of her are more impressive than any of the others and Lexa _knows_. She meets Clarke's gaze. 

"Clarke. Do you..." She doesn't know how to ask, so she let's it hang. But Clarke seems to understand and nods minutely. 

"Yeah"

"Oh" The next thing she knows is that she's darted forward and kissed the Skai girl, who immediately kisses back. 

Lexa is grateful that she didn't die all those weeks ago. 


End file.
